Our Beloved Phillip

 Phillip Adam Bishop

1986-2014

Goodbye Summer--- Hello Fall!

I have been so in denial about summer’s ending that I have mostly refused to check my email this weekend—not wanting to acknowledge that classes, and the whole semester, begin this week! It seems that I have been more reluctant than ever to let summer end—it began so beautifully with an emergency management conference in Emmitsburg  (always lovely to see old colleagues and meet new ones),

Elizabeth’s visit, which included beach trips to Cape May,

Rehoboth
and running up to New York City to meet Sophia’s young man, Tait,

and an Amish buggy ride through Lancaster County.
Next came some shopping, and a few college tours for Elizabeth.
In July, Ed and Fawn and I enjoyed a day exploring Herring Point

and having lunch in Lewes. That’s also where I took some great shots with my new Sony camera.

Finally, August brought a trip to SanFrancisco ...

...to attend the ASA annual meeting, which included being picked up at the airport by my son, Michael, and meeting his lovely Annie.

This was the cherry on top of an already lovely summer! ASA also included a pre-conference tour of sustainable wine growing in Sonoma...

...which also included wine tastings... (yes, note the plural!)...

And I also took a combined day trip to Angel Island (exploring the history of Pacific immigration) and to

Alcatraz (to explore the history of this island as a notorious prison from which everyone wanted to escape but very few actually did!).

In between, I finished Chapter 4 of my dissertation and have been working on purging papers stored in the garage. This weekend I’ve purged and cleaned my office, rearranged the furniture and now I am soooo looking forward to writing there in the coming months!

Yes, summer is over… sigh…The Old Farmer’s Almanac  

forecasts a terrible winter much like the brutal one we had last year. I’ve decided to treat myself to some great new boots (already ordered) and a great cashmere sweater to make it all bearable. Haven’t found the sweater yet, but this will give me something to do and look forward to. I’m also mentally preparing for revising Chapter 4 and drafting Chapter 5. It will be great to be done! It’s been a long time coming.

In between I will also be developing several new programs at work, as well as Chairing the Curriculum Committee. It’s also time to put the plans together for a family beach vacation at a pet friendly place for next June. In my spare time (haha!) I will continue to purge—and that feels oh so good!

Hello Fall! I might as well get used to you being here J.

Happy Birthday, Sophia!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SOPHIA!!!

Sophia... you are so special and have been such a delightful person to watch grow into adulthood. Sophia is... loving, kind, thoughtful, wise, strong, determined, and just an all-around fierce woman!

Here are some random pictures celebrating Sophia (in no particular order)...

 She's not yet 2 years old in the photo above...

 And here she is all grown up!

With her Oma... pushing Lili in the stroller...

feeding Lili one of those awful pixie straws during Michael's swim meet...

And finally, courtesy of Erika's FB pictures, here's the latest of Sophia...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Sweetie! May your life be full of love and joy!

San Francisco Arrival & Sausalito

What better way to arrive at a far away destination than to be picked up by your son? Michael was waiting for me when I landed with USAir (more about that flight in an upcoming post) and the timing was great because Annie arrived a few minutes later. We headed across the bridge to Sausalito, and had lunch at a cute little fish market on the waterfront. We then walked around in the heart of Sausalito, poor Annie tenderly nursing her foot since she'd had foot surgery. The weather was great and the view of the bay phenomenal ! Sausalito attracts lots of foreign tourists, so all sorts of languages can be heard- a feast for the ears!

Circling around the SF airport to pick up Annie...

Crossing the Golden Gate...

Lunch in Sausalito at the Fish restaurant...

Michael and Annie...

Behind me is the San Francisco Bay and Alcatraz...

Siblings on Mt Olympus Hike

Remember a few posts ago there were pictures of my 3 youngest children? Well, here they are all grown up and hiking Mt. Olympus this summer. 

I am just amazed by their hiking prowess!

They walk miles and miles, carrying everything they need to survive on their backs. 

Luckily, they find this satisfying and rewarding. I am so proud of them!

Myrtle Beach Vacation

 Most of the time our vacations consisted of going to Myrtle Beach and staying at Uncle Max's cabin. 

 Uncle Max is the handsome man on the far right. He and Ed go back many years... Ed first got to know Max when he was in grad school. 

 Adorable Lili on the beach.

 Phillip enjoying floating in his tube....

 And, of course, here is Sophia...happy with her progress on building a sandcastle!

 South Carolina's Grand Strand is fabulous! Wide beaches with blond sand.....

 Even Uncle Max joined us for a day on the beach!